There is a spectre that hangs over student media.
Actually, all media (including the big-person kind), if you want to get all technical about it. But that’s not my concern here. right now I’m concerned with where our newspaper will be five or 10 years from now. Will students be ready for the host of new challenges that will arise in this increasingly unstable industry? I’m talking about the “new media”, and I think that the student and alternative newspapers and magazines of today will play an important role in shaping how we all get our information down the road.
Student publications are in a powerful position. We are privately funded, independent media organizations that cater to a very specific group of people. We do not face the same difficulties as the big papers. We can experiment. We can take risks. We can fail. and, most importantly, we can succeed where others haven’t.
It was with that in mind that we started this magazine two years ago. Our frustration with the failure of student media to cover anything more than topical, regurgitated topics on a weekly basis was compounded by our own extensive news cycle. From then until now we have refined our method and our ideology. We know we occupy a niche, and we intend to cater the hell out of it.
Our challenge was to focus on a few key functions and execute them well. We wanted to dig deep into stories that were relevant and exciting for students to read. We wanted to present it in a form that is both aesthetic and functional. And we wanted it to be freely accessible to everyone. These are not small goals, and our team has worked exceptionally hard to make them a reality.
While print, especially in the case of the newspaper, may be withering away, I am of the opinion that it won’t die. It will take on a new form. Web content will be at the forefront, but it is clear that there is a shift towards shorter-run, higher- quality print publications—physical media that takes advantage of its differences from electronic media. A non-disposable alternative. This magazine is our first step towards that end.
